Thursday evening baseball DFS presented a “not enough pitching” problem. Congratulations to those who used John Lackey and Marco Estrada to win my money. As it often does, the pendulum swings all the way back tonight. Let’s try to solve the “too many aces” puzzle.
Zack Greinke $12300 is 8-1 at home with a 1.41 ERA in the best season of a fine career and can make a Cy Young statement. Jose Fernandez $11800 vs. Max Scherzer $12100 is a clash of right-handed titans. Prefer southpaws? Chris Sale $12200 and Madison Bumgarner $11500 can be unhittable. MadBum often pinch-hits, so his last-10 average PPG at DraftKings of “only” 23.6 is deflated by three zeroes. It’s actually 33.7 over seven starts.
In the Subway Series, Masahiro Tanaka $10800 is the Yankees’ best hope all weekend, facing rookie Steven Matz $8200. Other SP worth considering include Drew Smyly $9400 and Mike Fiers $8700.
It’s not easy to choose just one of the above, and it’s expensive to use two. Making it trickier is a relative lack of bargains with upside. Marcus Stroman $7000 vs. Rick Porcello $6900 could be a duel, despite two great-hitting clubs in the Rogers HomerDome.
Plays of the Day
The $125K Moonshot is a $3 buy-in (FREE to new depositors at DraftKings) that pays the top 9,625 finishers from up to 47,912 teams, with multiple entries permitted. First place wins $10,000. Enter by 7:05; lineup changes are allowed until each player’s game begins.
We almost never spend 40% of the salary cap on pitching. Tonight’s sample lineup goes way beyond that guideline (44.6%) and means we need a bargain bat at every position.
At C, Russell Martin $4100 got last night off after a superb game on Wednesday. Cheap play John Jaso $2500 hit a home run last night that still hasn’t landed — it got stuck in one of those stupid catwalks.
1B Jose Abreu $5000 also rested on Thursday after clubbing his 29th HR the day before. For bargain hunters, Billy Butler $3600 has homered in two straight and Mike Napoli $3200 faces a lefty making just his second start off a long DL stint.
While 2B/3B Justin Turner $3600 costs a bit less and has a favorable matchup, Dustin Pedroia $4200 has four straight multi-hit games since returning from the DL.
3B Miguel Sano $4700 is dangerous vs. LHP and Manny Machado $3900 is affordable, but Mike Olt $2200 remains excellent bang for the buck, off homers in consecutive starts.
Although Jean Segura $3800 is a reasonably-priced SS enjoying a recent power surge, Corey Seager $3400 would be my choice at almost any price. No ordinary rookie, the phenom has a .526 OBP through his first 13 games in the Show and is already batting cleanup.
Saving at all those spots lets us consider a stars-and-scrubs OF. Nelson Cruz $5300 in Texas is tempting and Matt Kemp $5200 gets to hit in Coors Field this weekend. Mike Trout $4900 exploded with 2 HR, 3 BB, 3 R and 5 RBI; teammate David Murphy $2700 is also playable. Alejandro De Aza $2700 is a possible breakout guy off two walks and a double. Even Superman has Kryptonite, my new nickname for Ryan Raburn $2100 since he homered twice off Sale 11 days ago. When does a fluke become a trend?
| Pos | Premium | Bargain |
| SP1 | Madison Bumgarner $11500 | Drew Smyly $9400 |
| SP2 | Masahiro Tanaka $10800 | Mike Fiers $8700 |
| C | Russell Martin $4100 | John Jaso $2500 |
| 1B | Jose Abreu $5000 | Mike Napoli $3200 |
| 2B | Dustin Pedroia $4200 | Justin Turner $3600 |
| 3B | Miguel Sano $4700 | Mike Olt $2200 |
| SS | Jean Segura $3800 | Corey Seager $3400 |
| OF1 | Matt Kemp $5200 | Alejandro De Aza $2700 |
| OF2 | Nelson Cruz $5300 | Ryan Raburn $2100 |
| OF3 | Mike Trout $4900 | David Murphy $2700 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Until basketball returns, we’re offering baseball tips on weekdays. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.